It’s hard to envision indie rock’s man of many memes as anything but the caricature we’ve come to know, but the reality is Mac DeMarco is getting older, and This Old Dog isn’t afraid to embrace that. What it does offer, however, is the most self-reflective version of DeMarco to date. It’s hard to see how This Old Dog will be received and remembered in DeMarco’s discography, as it lacks the early energy of 2 or the immediate accessibility of Salad Days. It’s also the best This Old Dog has to offer: a brief but tender look behind the curtain beyond the visage of the goofy 20-something with an endless supply of Viceroys tucked into his overalls. Sonically, “Sister” is sparse and solitary (two words rarely found in the DeMarco lexicon), with little more than the singer’s voice and some plucked strings to carry the tune. This is best captured midway through the album on “Sister”, perhaps the most heartfelt minute and nineteen seconds DeMarco has ever put to tape. Vibrant synth melodies, and cleverly accented clave patterns no doubt help make these songs work musically, but it’s the sentiments espoused by DeMarco that make them resonate. What makes songs like album openers “My Old Man” and “This Old Dog” so engaging is that they not only feel fresh within DeMarco’s overall body of work, but come across as intimate ruminations on the artist’s life and relationships. Songs like “Baby You’re Out” and “Moonlight on the River” sound like poorer versions of tracks found earlier on the record, while “One More Love Song” is about as original as its title suggests.
This Old Dog also boasts the most acoustic guitar and synthesizer of any Mac DeMarco release, a mix that works surprisingly well on the record’s titular track, and serves as a welcome change from the musician’s trademark pedal-heavy sound.Īlthough these changes to DeMarco’s song writing formula make for generally successful new material, This Old Dog does suffer from issues of monotony. On his third full-length album, DeMarco spends equal time with maturity and mischievousness, questioning a budding likeness to his father in the opening song “My Old Man”, while saving room to offer cheeky relationship advice on “One Another”.
Such juxtapositions seem to be what This Old Dog was made to tackle, dealing with the dichotomies of aging lyrically, and different instrumental decisions sonically. His gap tooth grin and ever-affable personality speak to a youthful persona, while the floppy dad hats and cheap cigarettes that have become staples of his image are more in line with “middle-aged tradesman” than “indie rock icon”. May 22 – Pittsburgh, PA Mr.It’s easy to envision Mac DeMarco as ageless. May 21 – Asheville, NC Highland Brewing Company May 19 – May 21 – Gulf Shores, AL Hangout Music Festival May 17 – Nashville, TN Marathon Music Works May 14 – Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre May 9 – Burlington, VT Higher Ground Burlington March 24 & 25 – Boise, ID Treefort Music Festival
March 3 – Okeechobee, FL Okeechobee Festival To support his new album, DeMarco has also announced a string of upcoming tour dates, including sets at music festivals like Okeechobee, Coachella, Treefort, Boston Calling and Hangout. This isn't the type of music that wows you on the first listen, but it's the kind of album you find yourself coming back to frequently. Mac's problem in past records has been the occasional clumsy song, but this record doesn't have any. The album is the Canadian singer-songwriter’s first release since 2015’s Another One EP. I've been a fan of Mac Demarco since his '2' days, and this is easily his best work so far. This Old Dog, due out May 5th, is available to pre-order now through Captured Tracks. I’m Italian, so I guess this is an Italian rock record.” “This is my acoustic album, but it’s not really an acoustic album at all. So this is a new thing for me,” DeMarco added. “The majority of this album is acoustic guitar, synthesizer, some drum machine, and one song is electric guitar.
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